Police refuse part in council force report

The East Riding Council has criticised Humberside Police for refusing to take part in a review panel following its damning inspection last year.

The council’s police review panel was set up after Humberside Police was the only force in the country to be rated ‘inadequate’ by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) in October.

As part of that the council had invited crime commissioner Matthew Grove and chief constable Justine Curran to take part in the review, but they refused.

Cllr John Dennis, who chaired the review panel, said: “The council has a right and a legal opportunity to scrutinise police performance under the Police and Justice Act 2006, and it was disappointing that the police and crime commissioner and chief constable felt the review panel had no part to play in the scrutiny process and refused to take part.

“The people of the East Riding make the biggest financial contribution to Humberside Police via the police precept set in the council tax budget so it is only right that we question the police and crime commissioner and the chief constable about how policing is affecting our residents.”

It comes after HMIC branded the force ‘inadequate’, criticising it for “a limited understanding of the current and future demand for its services”.

The council’s panel made 16 recommendations in total, including: “recognising the importance of early intervention and effective partnership; funding to be allocated by Humberside Police and the chief crime commisioner to services such as neighbourhood watch and anti-social behaviour teams; improvements to the police’s command hub as a matter of urgency; consultation to be undertaken with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, residents and partner organisations when the police implement changes that affect people in the East Riding.”

Ms Curran, who claimed £39,000 in expenses to transfer from Tayside Police to Humberside Police in March 2013, said she turned down the invitation to join the review panel because she did “not feel it is appropriate”.